Research and Course Guides: Diversifying your Course Materials: Resources for other parts of your syllabus

Land acknowledgments

University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgment

The University of St. Thomas occupies the ancestral and current homelands of the Dakota people, Mni Sota Makoce. We also recognize the Ojibwe and Ho-Chunk whose lands were colonized by the United States and are currently occupied by the State of Minnesota. We condemn the tools of settler colonialism, including genocide and forced assimilation, undertaken in the name of white supremacy that created structures of injustice and inequity that continue to oppress and marginalize Indigenous and underrepresented peoples. We work towards the process of decolonizing minds and educating students to be morally responsible leaders. We commit to the work of truth-telling and relationship building as we seek new pathways forward as relatives in the University of St. Thomas community, the Indigenous communities, and those who traverse multiple communities.

Pronunciation Note:Mni (mnee) Sota (shoh-dah) Makoce (mah-koh-chay)

Official University of St. Thomas Land Acknowledgments

Territory Acknowledgements website and map

To find out about indigenous territories, languages, and treaties for any location in North America, take a look at the Native Land website and map. Please note the disclaimer when using the site and map.

Territories

You are on the land of the
Wahpekute (Link 1)
Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ (Link 1)
Očeti Šakówiŋ (Sioux) (Link 1)

Treaties

Cession 243 (Link 1)

Languages

Learn more about languages spoken on this land:

Santee (Link 1)

Learn more

A guide to indigenous land acknowledgement
From the Native Governance Center, based in St. Paul, MN. This is a guide to reflecting on and creating an indigenous land acknowledgement. Developed based on a panel discussion about land acknowledgements on Indigenous People's Day, Oct. 14, 2019.
Territory acknowledgements
A guide to creating and using territory acknowledgements. The site Native-land lets you search for a location and will provide you information on territories and treaties for that location.
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As noted on the site: "Please note: this is NOT a perfect resource! It is very likely that if you do not do any further research or verify our results, you will err in your acknowledgements. We recommend contacting the nations you get in your results directly, to learn more about how they want to be acknowledged and any other nations or peoples in the area."
Guide to Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territories
From the Canadian Association of University Teachers. The practices listed in this guide are helpful. The guide has collected statements from many Canadian universities.
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As noted on the site: "We wish to emphasize that this is a guide, not a script. We are recommending the acknowledgements that have been developed by local university-based Indigenous councils or advisory groups, where possible."
Are you planning to do a land acknowledgement?
An insightful post that walks through things to think about when doing a land acknowledgement. From American Indians in Children's Literature
'I regret it': Hayden King on writing Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement
An Aug. 2019 interview with Hayden King, an Anishinaabe writer who helped write Ryerson University's territorial acknowledgement in 2012. King talks about territorial acknowledgements, what they mean in today's political climate and how they can be improved.
Beyond Territorial Acknowledgements
Written by Chelsea Vowel, a Métis from manitow-sâkahikan. She is is currently a graduate student and Cree language instructor at the Faculty of Native studies at the University of Alberta. This essay is written in response to the CAUT guide and is an exploration of the purpose and practice of territorial acknowledgements, as well as what it might mean to go beyond them.

Diversity Statements

Before and After: Statements about Course Content
An annotated look at a syllabus statement on possibly offensive or upsetting content in a course and how and why it might be revised.
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From the St. Louis University Reinert Center for Transformative Teaching and Learning.
examples of inclusive statements (CSU Chico)
Examples of inclusive statements that can be added to a syllabus. Includes a list of syllabi for specific subjects.

The Inclusive Syllabus

Creating an Inclusive Syllabus
From Grinnell College, ideas for your consideration in creating an inclusive syllabus. The ideas listed on this page are not for specific readings, but rather ways of setting up your syllabus to make it more inclusive.
Accessible Syllabus
Clear and useful information about creating a syllabus that is accessible to all students. From Tulane University.

Resource Lists

The University of St. Thomas library has a service called Resource Lists. This is a Canvas-embedded tool that helps you make your course readings more accessible and affordable for your students.

Read more:

Resource Lists at St. Thomas
Information about the Resource List service
Resource Lists how-to guide
Step-by-step guide to using Resource Lists

Diversifying your Course Materials: Resources for other parts of your syllabus